Shannon Matthews trial Day 3 - Karen was 'Jekyll and Hyde'

Nov 13 2008 By Andrew Jackson

KAREN Matthews displayed a "Jekyll and Hyde" character during the 24-day search for her daughter - joking with friends behind closed doors but subdued with the police and press, a court heard today.

At one point she joked that she would like to have sex with one of the policemen guarding her house as hundreds of officers searched for nine-year-old Shannon, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Matthews, 33, would "act as if it was a normal day" with friends and relatives but would be quiet and withdrawn with the police and press, the jury was told.

Friend and neighbour Natalie Brown described Matthews as having a "Jekyll and Hyde character" during the 24-day search.

She said she observed Matthews’s behaviour when she and her partner Craig Meehan stayed with her for five days and generally as the search intensified.

Mrs Brown was asked to describe her behaviour by Julian Goose, prosecuting.

"She acted as if it was a normal day. She helped me clean the house and make cuppas, laughing and joking", she told the jury.

She said when the news came on the television her mood changed and she became quiet and "glued to the TV".

She said she also became quiet when the police were around.